Real-time location systems (RTLS) are technology solutions that automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, in most cases within a building such as a hospital, warehouse, shipping yard, or campus.
In a typical implementation, wireless RTLS tags are affixed to objects or worn by people, and fixed reference points receive wireless signals from these tags to determine their location. Tags and fixed reference points can be transmitters, receivers or both, and this flexibility allows for multiple possible combinations. These solutions enable organizations to more effectively keep track of where things are, which can help them improve processes they are currently struggling with, such as inventory management.
RTLS systems are designed to replace outdated, less efficient solutions such as spreadsheets and clipboards, by automating tasks that are now largely manual and prone to errors. The RTLS systems are also valuable to businesses because they generate intelligence: Useful data about product and asset movement within facilities, how quickly processes are being completed, and what organizations such as hospitals can do to speed up services. Data gathered by these systems can be stored, analyzed, audited, and assessed by internal parties or external authorities such as public safety organizations.
The term “RTLS” first emerged in the late 1990s, to describe and differentiate a new technology that leveraged the automatic identification capabilities of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and provided the ability to view the location of a tagged object on a computer screen. Although similar capabilities had been used earlier by military and government agencies, the technology supporting it had been too costly for commercial purposes. Today, RTLS is dynamic market and according to many estimates growing over 30% annually. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing adoption of RTLS in the healthcare industry. For example, some systems use passive RFID tags to track the location of objects. With passive RFID, a reader and antenna send a radio signal to a tag, which uses the transmitted signal to power itself. Passive RFID systems can operate in low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) or ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio bands.
Applications of RTLS typically aim to improve operational processes and workflows; safety and security; inventory management, or a combination of all of these. RTLS solution implementation can help organizations address specific challenges they are facing related to a range of causes including resource inefficiencies and even employee endangerment. Factory workers can use RTLS to find and deliver needed materials to keep production processes running smoothly, enhancing productivity through significant time savings.
In the healthcare sector, hospitals and clinics can use the technology to track and manage assets such as medical equipment, through real-time visibility into the location and status of the equipment. This can potentially reduce inventory costs, cut down on the time it takes nurses, technicians and other healthcare professionals to locate missing equipment, reduce theft of high-cost systems, and automate the maintenance of equipment. Healthcare facilities can also decrease the amount of time patients have to wait between procedures, through automated alerting and monitoring of patient activity or inactivity. They can also enhance the safety of patients by keeping track of their whereabouts within a facility. One of the unique attributes of RTLS that makes it applicable to so many applications and industries is its ability to track the location of so many different types of assets, whether it's equipment, tools, shipping containers, measurement devices or vehicles. Knowing the exact location and condition of assets can help companies improve workflow processes—regardless of the type of business they provide.
RTLS is also valuable because it can be used to track people. For industries such as healthcare, the benefits of this are clear: hospital administrators can follow a patient's journey through the emergency room, admission process, operating room, and hospital room—all the way through discharge. Tracking such metrics as wait times during these various stages in the patients' journey helps administrators to better address potential patient flow challenges. People-tracking using RTLS can also be used to improve safety. Through the use of security badges, people who work in harsh environmental conditions and remote processing plants can be tracked in case of emergencies. The technology can not only track the location of objects but their condition as well, through such capabilities as remote temperature and humidity monitoring. Industries that rely on products or materials being managed in optimal conditions, such as healthcare, food processing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, etc., can benefit from ensuring that these products are stored and kept in the best possible conditions. The potential benefits include cost savings and, even more important, public safety.
One of the common threads with all of these RTLS applications is the alarm/alert capabilities of the system. Whether it is to indicate that an asset is located in the wrong place at the wrong time, that a worker is in some kind of danger, that a patient requires help, or that a freezer has reached a high temperature threshold, RTLS can send an immediate signal to a manager, nurse, public safety official, or other user that allows them to take quick action. This type of alerting capability can be used in a multitude of ways to provide benefits in a variety of industries, including financial services, retail, public safety, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, education, transportation, energy, and manufacturing.
RTLS configurations can vary significantly depending on what type of facilities the technology is being used in, the type of system, how it is being used, what types of products are being tracked, what conditions are being monitored, etc. A key piece of the RTLS configuration is the badge or “tag” that is used to provide location information. Tags are attached to whatever assets, equipment, or materials an organization wants to track, while badges are worn by people who can be tracked or who use the system to trigger alerts. These lightweight tags or badges transmit radio frequency signals periodically to access points, and subsequently to RTLS software. A single implementation can support as many as thousands of tags, but most deployments start much smaller and can be scaled up as needed. The accuracy of tag locations can be enhanced by the use of small, battery powered location beacons that can be strategically installed within facilities such as distribution warehouse corridors, hospital rooms, logistics yards, ports, or other facility areas. These products operate wirelessly.
Finally, a wireless access point (AP) or “bridge” is a device that enables wireless devices to connect to a network using Wi-Fi or related standards.